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Three big development applications filed in county, including 51-acre mixed-use center

Published on: September 23, 2016

Three big commercial development applications were filed with Palm Beach County in August, including a 51-acre mixed-use project.

All of these comprehensive plan amendments are scheduled for a first hearing on Nov. 18, followed by a county commission vote on Jan. 31, 2017. They are in unincorporated western areas of the county.

In the largest proposal, the 51-acre site at 8225 Atlantic Ave., on the northwest corner of Florida’s Turnpike west of Delray Beach, would be rezoned for mixed use. This plan would allow up to 176,000 square feet of commercial/retail space, 400 multifamily units, 20,000 square feet of office space, 240 hotel rooms and a 525-bed congregate living/assisted facility.

It would be located within the county’s Agricultural Reserve. The application, which was prepared by JMorton Planning, said the Agricultural Reserve is underserved by commercial space as it has 544,000 square feet of commercial and office approved, including 259,000 dedicated to retail and restaurants.

While the Agricultural Reserve mostly has single-family homes and not more dense multifamily, the application said it would dedicate 40 percent of the multifamily units to workforce housing for people making no more than 140 percent of median income.

The property is currently owned by the Morningstar Nursey, but it’s under contract to Morningside Partners VI, an affiliate of Dallas-based developer Millenia Partners. The company has developed a handful of commercial projects in Florida, including Millenia Place in Orlando, and it also owns a proposed development site on Hagen Ranch Road.

Officials with Millenia Partners couldn’t be reached for comment.

Congregate living facility proposed

An affiliate of St. Louis-based Allegro Senior Living wants to build a congregate living facility west of Boca Raton.

The 12.8-acre site is at 8181 and 8295 Clint Moore Road just west of Florida’s Turnpike. It’s currently owned by Ronald Simon and Alternative Educational Systems Property 4 but it’s under contract to Allegro Development Co., an affiliate of the company that owns 10 assisted living facilities in Florida. Locally, it owns ALFs in west Boynton Beach and Jupiter that also include memory care.

The application would allow up to 250,905 square feet of development on the site, although part of that would be for a daycare center that was previously approved. Joni Brinkman of Urban Design Kilday Studios, which represents the developer in the application, couldn’t be reached for comment.